Heathrow Gatwick thunderstorm flight delays hit more than 600 flights on Saturday, with passengers at both airports facing delays of up to six hours. NATS said the weather disruption would continue through the rest of the day, while Gatwick put temporary air traffic control restrictions in place.
At least 367 flights arriving at or departing from Heathrow were delayed, and at least 352 were delayed at Gatwick. Dozens were cancelled, adding to the backlog for Easyjet and British Airways passengers trying to move through London airports.
Adam Joseph in Venice
Adam Joseph told News he was stranded at Venice airport in Italy after his flight to Gatwick had been delayed by four hours and counting. He said he was waiting without air conditioning and that his flight was due to depart Venice at 12:30 local time.
"We could've stayed at the hotel for another three to four hours," Joseph said. He also said the plane had not yet left London on its outbound leg, a sign of how the disruption was rippling through rotations rather than staying on one route.
Heathrow and Gatwick restrictions
Gatwick said temporary air traffic control restrictions had been put in place because of the thunderstorms. Eurocontrol said Heathrow and Gatwick were the only two UK airports then facing heavy delays linked to the weather, while flights on paths outside the storm area were still leaving and arriving on time.
An Easyjet flight from Gatwick to Antalya moved from 11:50 BST to 18:00. That kind of long hold means travellers need to keep checking airline updates before heading back to the airport, because the schedule was still changing as the day went on.
Saturday and the rest of the day
The disruption began on Saturday as thunderstorms hit the UK and pushed delays across both Heathrow and Gatwick. NATS said the weather problem was expected to continue through the rest of the day, leaving the two airports under pressure while other UK flights outside the storm zone kept moving.
The immediate question for passengers is whether their own aircraft had been caught in the same rotation delays or in the local restrictions around Heathrow and Gatwick. With dozens of cancellations already recorded and more than 600 delays counted, anyone booked through either airport had to treat Saturday’s schedule as unstable until their airline issued a new departure time.
